DETROIT -- You can't blame Lions receiver Ryan Broyles for the major mistake he made in Monday night's game at Chicago. He is a rookie, after all.

The faux pas came midway through the third quarter when Broyles caught a 16-yard pass. It was the first reception of his career, but Broyles didn't scoop up the ball or try to stash it. He was too focused on helping the Lions try to claw back from a 13-0 hole.

"I was just in the zone," he said Thursday, Oct. 25, with a smile.

But Broyles learned. One quarter later, in the fourth game of his career, Broyles caught his first touchdown pass.

"I did get the touchdown ball back," he said. "I'm going to take it to the house and frame it up."

That's the way it has gone for Broyles. Some moments are worth framing. Others are entirely forgettable, such as when he failed to get Matthew Stafford's hand signals in a no-huddle drive Monday and got chewed out by the quarterback.

Again, Broyles was in the zone and didn't even notice Stafford barking at him.

"Yeah, people have been saying that," Broyles said. "I was in the zone, man. I knew I messed up, and I was trying to beat myself up. I didn't really see him beating me up.

"But honestly, the more we play together, I'll understand what he wants out of me, and I've just got to keep my eyes on the quarterback more than anything."

Broyles certainly will get that chance Sunday against Seattle. When Nate Burleson was lost for the season with a broken leg, Broyles immediately was elevated into Burleson's role as slot receiver.

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It's a demanding job, but one that offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said suits Broyles well.

"The thing he does best is if it's a zone defense, he really understands how and where to get open versus zone coverage," Linehan said. "And then he's pretty sneaky against man coverage. Man's pretty easy as far as you've got a technique, you've got to win out, so it's just a matter of winning a one-on-one.

"But zone's harder. When you're working the middle of the field, it's a harder thing to understand. A lot of guys race through open slots, (whereas) he's always putting himself in a position to be open as a receiver for the quarterback, and I think that's his best strength."

Broyles said that zone-defense acumen comes from his intuitive nature on the field.

"I feel like I'm just a football player," he said. "I've been playing since I was 8 years old, so I'm not really a fan of you draw up a line and I'm going to go run the line.

"I'm going to go get open. I'm going to do as much as I can to work that as well, but it's a football field and it's a game for kids. So you've got to have fun and can't be too uptight about things. And I feel that's the way I play."

And play a lot, he will. Broyles likely will gobble up the majority of Burleson's snaps. In Broyles' first three games, he played a total of 29 snaps. On Monday, he played 35.

It was a lot for Broyles to handle in a hostile environment, but it might have been the most effective test.

"I feel like the best thing for a young guy is to throw him in the fire, 'cause the more and more he sits out, it's kind of like a setback for him," Calvin Johnson said. "You put him in the fire, from that point on he's going to be learning."

Broyles knows the Lions are going to count on him. He's a second-round pick who distinguished himself as the NCAA career receptions leader. Now he has to make good on that promise.

"I feel they drafted me for a reason," Broyles said. "They wanted to bring me in to learn behind Nate. He went down, but I feel like I've been preparing myself these last couple weeks, throughout the whole season and off-season just to be ready and come out and do what I can."